Portable paving plant



F. B. TOTMAN.

PORTABLE PAVING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED Dsc. 7, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

I I i i' w n L .Q 'IIIIIWIIIIIII A N WIT/VESSES.' Q NVENTOR,

' /cFw// 5 75077427,-

F. B. TOTMAN.

PORTABLE PAVING PLANT.

APPLICATION HLED Dec.l 7, 1917.

Patented June 1, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

sr l Arron/vir.

F. B. TOTIVIAN.

POR'TABLE PAVING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED DEc. 7.1917.

1,341,948. y PatentedJune 1, 1920.l

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES:

FRANK B. 'roTMANg .or Los ANGELES, enmronnrn. f

PORTABLE ravINtfPL'ANfnf To all whom imag/concern:

4Be it'known that I, FRANK'B. ToTMAN, a

. citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of LosAngeles .and State of California, 'useful' Improvements in Portable `Paving Plants, of'which the following lis a specification. y

Y pavement isto be laid and these points of -throughout the vor contractors This invention lrelates to improvements inpaving plants. I, .n 1

The ordinary paving plant is a permanent structure of large'proportions and usually equally as high asv a 'two or three story building, thus, paving material made .by lsuch -a vplant mustbe transported'to points where laying pavement are often so far removed from the plant that such transporation by truck or wagon, -as is generally the case, is impracticable, involves too great an expenditure, and consumes too great an amount of time, therefore allowing the material to c ool to a degree which will render it unlit for im- Spcication of Letters Patenti,

have vinvented new and yediate application. In most largev citiesl .country paving .companies build large plants, having l suliicient capacity to supply their immediate needs as to work contracted for, and inA most smallpaving jobs situated within a re'ason-l able distance of the plants thepmaterial made in such plants is hauled to the sceneof work by trucks or wagons and thus may be taken' hot from the plants and-'delivered for a'p' plication while still hot, but where the work contracted for is out of town able distance from the plants, such, forinstance, as a contract for county' or y state highway paving,.it is impossible to transport the material from the plants 'tofthe scene of construction and ofttimes it is lrequired that a complete paving plant be'con- A structed adjacent to the scene of paving construction. In some instances contractors and companies will disassemble their already constructed plants and ship f them tothe points where the new plants are to be constructed, and this method is time consuming, costly and generally objectionable. I

1 am aware of portable paving plants or inachines but the capacity of these machines.

is limited to such extent that their use is of no appreciable avail in supplying paving material for a large job-or contract.-

- What is most required for the purpose of 'facilitating the carrying out of large paving o'r a considerratenteQJunei, i920.

,Apimcation med neember'a-isiv. ysemi-ina 206,116.

afar removed `from the mainV factory for l, plant, .is a portable take- .downf-pavingpplant which is of such construction that it will have a sulicient capacity to' supply vtheneeds ofthe particularV o work o il job preferably a capacity which substantially-'equals thatof vvthe ordinary per; -manently-lconstructed' paving plant. These requirementslare necessary, togetherI with the requirement of mobility of the plant and it islthe'primary object of my invention to that it'` consists of demountable units each capable of independent tractability or portability,y the entire portable plant being 'so f relatively constructed and arranged that it may bec'onveniently and expeditiously as-' ysembled or disassembled. lA. further object of the invention is to- 'provide a portable paving plant in which 'the units are provided with Wheels so that wheni disassembled may be independently 4overcome the hereinbefore noted objections and tolgreatlyffacilitate paving operations fatvpointsfar removed from the main factory lor plant. lTo these ends I provide a port.-

`70 A able paving plant which is constructed so i i transported or may be conveniently shipped p ,upon a flat or box car.

A further object of the invention is to provide in connection with a portable paving plant'of the character described, means whereby the units of the plant may be readily assembled or disassembled without requiring a great deal of time and labor.

The invention further consists in the particular combination, association, inter-relation and particular construction and relative arrangement of all of the parts, elements, units and features thereof, such as hereinafter defined, illustrated in the accom- -panying drawings, and Vfinally pointed out in the appended claims. 1

Other objects and advantages will appear during the course of the following descripl tion.

o In the drawings:

'V 'Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portable paving plant constructed in accordance with 'this invention, illustrating'the various units of the plant in operative relation, i

Fig. 2 represents an end elevation of the assembled plant,

'Fig.f3 represents a plant, 'showing the same disassembled, one

side elevation of the upon the unit B, such the pug mill Fig. 6 isa fragmentary plan view of the bottom casting of said pug mill, and

F 1g. 7 is a vertical sectional view takenv through the pug mill.

Referring particularly to the drawings which forma part of this specification, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, A generally designates a portable paving plant which, aside from its construction which provides for the portable characteristics thereof, embodies the ordinary and well known elements of a paving plant.

he plant consists essentially in two units, designated B and C,

respectively, the unit C being adapted to rest upon and be supported by theunit B when the plant is assembled for operation. The lower, or base, unit C comprises a heavy frame construction 1 supported by wheels 2, there being four of such wheels, two upon the front axle 3 and'two upon the rear axle 4. This frame l preferably comprises front and rear upright members 5 and 6, respectively, and upper horizontal ymembers 7 connected with said upright members. These horizontal frame members 7 are disposed at such an elevation that a truck, wagon or other vehicle which as indicated at D may pass under the same, the front and rear frame members 5 and 6 being likewise spaced apart a sufiicient distance to permit of the free passage of the vehicle D beneath said frame members 7. The front axle 3 is connected by a fifth wheel 8 tothe upright'frame member 5 and there may be provided suitable draft rigging 9. The front member 5 has downward extension portions 10 which -are disposed below the upper sides of the Wheels 2 on the outsides of the said wheels. These portions 10 are adapted to be blocked un'der so as to provide for an additional supporting of the unit B and structures supported thereon.

The upper unit C comprises a suitable frame construction generally designated 11, front and rear axles 12 and 13, respectively, and a pair of wheels 14, mounted upon each of said axles, there being a fifth wheel construction 15 connecting the front axle 12 with the framey 11. The upper frame members 7 of the unit B nel beams 16 which receive the wheels 14 of the unit C when the latter unit is disposed in operaitve position upon the unit B and there are provided means generally designated 17 for holding the unit C in place means coperating with the axles 12 and 13 and frame lso as to spouts U, such valved spouts are provided with chanhold the-upper unit C against moving forward or backward.

Having thus briefly described the main paving plant units, such units being of vehicle like construction and adapted for position one upon the other, I will now generally describe the paving plant which in the main is supported by these two vehicle like units B and C. The frame l,.or, more specicall, the frame member 7, supports a pug mill said pug mill being of the customary construction save for the bottom member F thereof, which is constructed and arranged inl a novel manner, such as will later be more fully described.' The pug mill is particularly illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings, and has a trap valve G in its bottom wall so that the paving mixtures or paving material may be allowed to dump into a vehicle disposed beneath such pug mill after a manner shown at D in Fig. l of the drawings. A suitable driving means, generally designated H, is mounted upon the frame 1 of the unit B and is in turn driven by a belt I which is operatively associated with a source of power not shown. An asphalt pump J is also mounted upon the frame 1 and may be connected by suitable piping K with an asphalt supply L. p

The unit C supports the main mixing bin lll, a revolving screen member N disposed above the mixing bin M, such screen member being driven by drive means O, which is operatively associated with the drive means H, by a belt P. By means of a suitable frame extension Q, a bucketelevator R is supported. This elevator is ofthe type generally used in paving plants and is operati'vely associated with a drier, not shown, for the material, not shown, that is used to make the paving material. This elevator is removable relative to the frame extension Q so as to facilitate the disassemblage of the units. Supported by the frame 11 of the unit C is a Weighing hopper orspout S provided with a valved lower end T.' This lower end T is disposedy above thepug mill E and may be operatedso as to admit or shut ofll the supply of material which is to be fed to the pug mill. The bin M is provided with a series of valved discharge being disposed above the hopper or spout S and lprovided with the customary operating means. The bin M is divided into sections in the ordinary manner,such as will not need illustration, and such divisions are in communication with respective spouts U. By independently operating the spouts U as is ordinarily done in paving plants, the amount of different grades of material admitted to the hopper S may be regulated at will. Any suitable means such as that designated V may be used for suspending the hopper izo ' collapsible operators Vplatform 18 .which S from the drum so that au'iweighing action, will take place and the indicator or scale W givento make clear the purpose ofthe present invention. andthe operation thereof. The piping K 'for connectingthe pump J. with the supply of asphalt L extends above the units B lfor coperation witli a tiltable asphalt feed bucket X suspended from ythe frame 11 of' .theffunit-C in the customary manner. This pipe is so arranged as to pro- .vide for a circulatory asphalt feed relative I to the discharge spout.- There is provided a4 valved discharge spout Y in the piplng K, suchy spout being disposed so as .to dis- #charge into the Abucket X'and said'bucket X is disposed so that the contents thereof v are disposed upon the ground-or other supmay be poured into the pug mill Itis thought unnecessary to further describe the paving plant elements illustrated and which not illustrated will coperate with'the illustrate'd., elements, inasmuch as these subject matters do not constitute parts of this Vin-- vention butv are described merely to show;y how the various machine and operating ele.-

ments of a paving plant are in this invention disposed so that a unitary portable Aplantl may Ibe provided, said units beingeach independently portable.

Taking up the descriptlon of the unit B, said unit is preferably provided with-a I extends along one f side thereof and there may be provided asimilar platformi 19 upon the other side. A winch 20, provided,A with 'hand operatnv'means 21, is preferably supported upon the upright frame memberv 6 and provides a means for .pulling the-up-Lv per unit C into place and allowing said unit i 'to .be lowered from supporting position upon the main unit B. f There is provided a cable 22 which is operatively associated with the -winch 20 and extends over a pulley f essentially as a whole is suported bythe 23 removably supported upon the pug mill E. This pulley is taken down when the parts are assembled. This cable is adapted to be attached to suitable draft rigging 24, that is attached to the front partof the frame 11. .On the forward ends of the upper frame members 7 there is provided means for supportingJ an inclined run way generally designated 25. This means preferably consists of downwardly oE-set -extensions 26 of the channel beams 16, and the run way 25 preferably consists of two longitudinal beams 27, each having a channel beam track member 28 fixed to its upper side. These beams 27 are removably secured within the extensions 26 by means of ends to resrtupon the ground.

lreplaced with a new casting. The

rThe pug mill Ev as. shown, is provided with a removable bottomI F, such bottombeing preferably in the form of a casting 'provided with a central opening to accommodate the trap or valve means Gr. This bottom .member F .is removably bolted'as y at 30 to the casing 31 of the pug mill and when worn, due to the action of the paddles the pug mill is considered an-essential feature of this invention, and an improvement 4over the prior art relative 'to pug mills,

inasmuch as prior constructions embody sectional plate construction, Asaid sectional v plates being riveted together and'forming a permanent bottom, making the replacement of a new bottom extremely 'difficult and expensive.

Assuming that the main yunits B and C port in dismantled or disassembled relation,

desired, and take lup comparatively little room. f When these units are disassembled they may be connected tofone'".fivrlotherv and rolled or pulled by a suitable tractor over'v i Bu'ringV thek individual transporting of the units Av 'and B'such elements of the plant Vas' "the weig'hing hopper S, the bucket Xandtheelevator-. -v R are removed from the unit C sov as to not interfere with the transportingl'thereofand f roads of-\ any description.

these elements may bey suitably carried as theyare not bulky nor unusually large,

`a truck, rtrailerl or the like. The piping K is disconnected fromv the ump and the asphalt supply L is prefleirably supported uponwheels as at 31 so that it, too, is free to be transported.. The members 27 areremoved' from the extensions 26 and may -be placedupon the unit B to-.betransported therewith. Likewise the connection orbelt I with the'source of power, notshown, is

will be readily seen that the paving plant two vehicle like units A and and as each `of such units is capable of being transremoved from the driving `means H. 1t

ported, the transporation of the entire plant may be'readily and easily effected through the individual transportation ofieach unit,

with much more facility than the ordinary.

paving plant structure which, when removed, has to be disassembled, dismantled and torn vdown in about the same manner as is the case in tearing down Aa house or factory. j

When it is desired to assemble the plant,

theunitB is brought into suitable positionl to support' the unit C and to dispose the elements supported by both` units in position -for coperation, preferably the ex tension members 10 being blocked. up, as.

- place' is then that the piping at 33, so as to relieve the strain ofy the load upon the front axle 3 and fifth wheel 8 The run way is next positioned, this being done by fitting certain ends of the beams 27 within the extensions 26 and inserting the bolts 29 in place through said extensions and the beams. The other ends of the beams or members 27 will rest upon the ground and said ends are-preferably beveled or chamfered. The unit C is next wheeled into position to mount the run way, the rear wheels 2 being disposed in alinement with said members 27 of the run way and the cable 22 is passed over the pulley 23 and connected with the draft means 24, associated with the front end of the frame l1 of the unit C. The winch 20 is operated by the means 21 or, if desired, suitable power means, not shown, may be employed. As the cable is wound upon the winch, unit C is pulled or caused to traverse over the run way and to assume its ro erl supported position upon the frame e1iibery7, the wheels 14 of the unit C being disposed within the channel beams 16. The means 17 for holding the unit C in positioned for such holding action. This means preferably consists of strap irons 34 which are of approximate U-shape, extended over the extremities of the axles 12 and 13 and bolted as at 35 at their extremities to the flanges of the channel beams 16. The elevator R is next mounted upon the frame. extension Q of the unit C and operatively-'associated with screen, N and supply of material to be elevated to vsaid screen and utilied in making thel paving material, said supply being delivered from a drier, not shown, such drier being customarily provided in paving plants.` The run way 25 may be removed, if desired, but if the disassembling of the plant is to take place within a short time for the purpose of transporting the samel elsewhere said run way is allowed to remain .in position. The asphalt supply L is next positioned relative to the plant so K may be connected with the pump J and valved outlet Y. The source of power, not shown, for operating the various rotary elements of the plant may consist of a wheeled plant' and is connected with the drive means H by the belt or drive member I. The weighing hopper S and feed bucket X are next properly suspended from the unit C and the belt or drive means P is peratively associated with the drive means and O; so as to operate the screen N. Such other operative connections as are necessary between the elements supported by the units B and `C may be made if required, only the essential operative connections being described herewith. The operation of manufacturing the paving material is carried out in the same manner as is employed in the stationary and permanent plants, su`ch as are in general use throughoutthe country. The material for admixture with the asphalt is rconducted to ,the screen N by the elevator R and said screen divides or separates the material into grades, such grades being stored within the sectional bin M. The operator, by opening the valved spouts allows the materialto de osit into the weighing hopper or spout l and the quantity of such material and weight thereof may be determined by tlie scale or indicator W. The valved lower end T is opened and the material .is allowed to dro into the pug mill The valved spout is opened and asphalt from the supply L flows into the feed bucket X. This bucket is tilted after Abeing suiiiciently filled so as to pour the asphalt into the pug mill and the agitating or mixing paddles 32 produce the paving material. A suitable wagon or vehicle adapted to transport the material is driven under the pug'mill between the wheels 2 and frame members 5 and 6 of the unit B. The trap or valve member G in the pug mill bottom may be opened and the paving material will be discharged into the wagon D. The foregoing description is that of the operation of the ordinary paving plant and is given merely to indlcate how the paving plant constructed in accordance with this invention is essentially constructed. l

To disassemble the plant, the connections between the paving plant elements which are supported by the respective units are removed and the locking means 17 is likewise removed. The unit B is then free to be lowered upon the run way 25 and this lowering may be readily, safely and easily effected by the winch and cable means provided forv such purpose.

lVith reference to the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, it will be observed that I have provideda .paving plant of such lunitary and particular construction that the same may be dismantled and the dismantled parts thereof are constructed so that they are capable of independent traction. In this way I may provide a paving machine which is exceptionally mobile and capable of being transported over ordinary vehicle roads for great distances, the size of the machine being of no moment, it being possible, therefore, to provide a machine having 'a capacity as great as that of any stationary and perinanent paving plant.

ile the foregoing description, accompanying drawings and appended claims refer to the preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that I may make minor changes as to details of construction, size and proportion and relative arrangement of parts, all Without departing A from the true spirit and scope of the invention thereof as defined herein.

Another of the essential features of the invention is the provision of a portable paving plant, in which the main plant elements or units are so constructed, relatively arranged supported and associated, that said machine elements may be inter-associated or dis-connected at Will Without removal thereoffrom the units or elements, or the expenditure of much time or labor, and so that said machine elements will coperate reliably and electively in their functions to produce paving material. Thus it Will be seen that I have provided essentially tWo main elements or units which, When disassembled are capable of independent traction, and which are adapted to be disposed one upon the other or in superposed relation so that the main machine elements of the paving plant supported respectively thereby may be properly inter-associated to produce a partially complete and unitary paving plant, the positioning of said main elements or units one upon the other providing for space economy.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I desire and claim by Letters Patent:

l. A portable paving plant, comprising' vehicle-like units each adapted for traction and being equipped With elements of a paving plant, means for holding one of said units upon and in superposed relation to the other of said units, said elements beings posited into said vehicle.

2. In a portable paving plant, a vehiclelike unit comprising upright frame members, Wheels supporting said upright frame members, other frame members connecting said upright frame members abovethe Wheels, all of said frame members and the Wheels being spaced apart suiiciently to permit a vehicle'to pass between thel Wheels and beneath said last named frame members, another vehicle-like unit comprising a frame and Wheels supporting said frame, said last named unit being adapted to be assembled in superposed relation to and upon said first named unit, both said units being capable of independent traction in combination with elements mounted respectively upon said units and capable of associated use in producing paving material.

In testimony whereof, I have signedim'y name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses. y FRANK B. TOTMAN.

Witnesses:

CHAs. J. CHUNN, RAYMOND IvEs BLAKESLEE. 

